E-commerce buyers move faster than traditional wholesale importers. Product cycles are measured in weeks, not seasons. Sourcing has to keep pace: fast quotes, small trial orders, and the ability to iterate on a product between the first launch and the second reorder.
Buyer profile
Who this serves
- DTC brands running their own storefronts (Shopify, Woo, custom).
- Multi-marketplace sellers listing on Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Etsy simultaneously.
- Founders who need trial orders of 200–2,000 units before scaling.
- Category buyers testing 3–5 SKUs at once to find the winner.
- Established brands adding a new product line without a full sourcing team in-house.
Workflow
How I work with buyers in this segment
01
Product-market fit first
I do not chase suppliers before you have validated demand. Test the concept with Amazon search data or landing-page traffic before we open factory conversations.
02
Small MOQ negotiation
Most factories quote 3,000+ MOQs by default. I negotiate 500-unit trial orders for buyers with a credible reorder plan and a written specification.
03
Fast sample turnaround
For DTC buyers I compress the sample round to 10–14 days by pre-briefing 2–3 candidate factories in parallel, not sequentially.
04
Reorder cadence planning
Once a product proves out, I set up a reorder rhythm with the factory — quarterly windows, price locked, so you’re never emergency-quoting during a stockout.
Questions
Common questions
Do you work with founders shipping their first order?
Yes, though I ask for evidence that you have validated demand before we open supplier conversations. Sourcing without a demand signal is expensive research.
What is your minimum project size?
I take on projects starting at $5,000 first-order value. Below that, factory margin and my time do not stretch to give either of us a good outcome.